The Conscience of the King (episode)
An actor traveling aboard the Enterprise may be a former governor who ordered a mass-murder twenty years ago. Summary The ''Enterprise'' is diverted from its normal mission to investigate a discovery by Doctor Thomas Leighton - a new synthetic food. When they arrive, Kirk learns the discovery is instead Leighton's firm belief that a travelling actor, Anton Karidian, is actually Kodos the Executioner, a man who ordered the murder of 4,000 colonists on Tarsus IV. Leighton is one of only nine people who actually saw Kodos; Kirk is another. At first convinced Kodos is dead, Kirk's research turns up enough information to pique his curiosity about Leighton's claim, so he returns to the planet in hopes of meeting Karidian in person. While walking with Karidian's lovely daughter Lenore, Kirk discovers Leighton's body. Truly suspicious now, Kirk calls in a favor; he has his friend Captain Jon Daily strand the actors, so they are forced to ask the Enterprise for help. Spock becomes concerned about the captain's behavior. Researching, he learns enough to raise his own suspicions, including the distrubing fact that of the nine eyewitnesses who could positively identify Kodos, seven are now dead. And whenever one died, the Karidian Players were somewhere near. Only Kirk and Lieutenant Kevin Riley remain alive. And then, someone poisons Riley, very nearly killing him. Spock is now certain Karidian and Kodos are the same man, but Kirk remains unsure. Their discussion is interrupted by the hum of a overloading phaser. Somewhere in Kirk's quarters is a potential explosive that can take out the entire deck. Kirk finds and disposes of it seconds before it explodes. Kirk is finally driven to confront Karidian, asking him point blank whether he is Kodos. Karidian gives him an evasive answer, but does perform a short speech for the purposes of voice comparison. Meanwhile, in sickbay, the recovering Lieutenant Riley overhears McCoy's log entry, learning that Karidian is suspected of being Kodos, the man who murdered Riley's family. The voiceprint comparison is close, very close, but Kirk argues that when a man's life is at stake, very close isn't good enough. The Karidian Players begin a presentation of Hamlet. Riley, with a stolen phaser, sneaks backstage. Kirk manages to talk him out of killing Karidian, who overhears their sotto voce conversation. Kirk is still backstage when Karidian and his daughter Lenore discuss what he overheard. Karidian learns, to his horror, that Lenore killed seven of the nine witnesses who could identify him, and plans to kill the remaining two after the performance. Kirk summons security to take them into custody; Lenore snatches Harrison's weapon and runs on stage. Karidian, desperate there should be no more blood on his hands, steps between her and Kirk as she fires; the shot is fatal. Twenty years after earning the name, Kodos the Executioner is dead. Log Entries *''Captain's log, stardate 2817.6. Starship Enterprise diverted from scheduled course, purpose: to confirm discovery by Dr. Thomas Leighton of an extraordinary new synthetic food which would totally end the threat of famine on Cygnia Minor, a nearby Earth colony.'' *''Captain's log, stardate 2818.9. There are many questions in my mind, too many perhaps about the actor Karidian and his daughter. For personal reasons, I'm almost afraid to learn the answers.'' *''Captain's log, stardate 2819.1. Ship's officer Riley's condition worsening, Dr. McCoy making lab analysis to determine cause and antidote. Entire crew deeply concerned.'' *''Medical log. Lieutenant Riley sufficiently recovered to be discharged, but the captain has ordered him restricted to sickbay to prevent contact with passenger who calls himself Karidian, and who's suspected of being Kodos the Executioner, and of murdering the Lieutenant's family.'' *''Captain's log, stardate 2819.8. Suspect under surveillance, strategic areas under double guard, performance of the Karidian Players taking place as scheduled.'' Memorable Quotes "Worlds may change, galaxies disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman." : - James Kirk to Lenore "Even in this corner of the galaxy, Captain, two plus two equals four. Almost certainly, an attempt will be made to kill you. Why do you invite death?" : - Spock "What if you decide he '''is' Kodos? What then? Do you play God, carry his head through the corridors in triumph? That won't bring back the dead, Jim!" "''No. But they may rest easier." : - Kirk and McCoy, on what to do if Karidian is Kodos "What have you done? All seven? ''More blood on my hands? My child! My child! You've left me nothing!" : - 'Anton Karidian, on learning that Lenore has killed seven (of nine) eyewitnesses. "I was a soldier in a cause; there were things that had to be done – terrible things!" "Stop it, father! You have nothing to justify!" "Murder, flight, suicide, madness... you were the one thing in life untouched by what I'd done." : - '''Anton Karidian, Lenore "And this ship: all this power, surging and throbbing. Yet under control. Are you like that Captain?" : - Lenore to Captain Kirk "They died quickly, without pain... but they ''died!" : - 'Spock' "''What were you twenty years ago?" "Younger, captain... much younger." : - Kirk, Anton Karidian "Why are there no records of you twenty years ago?" "The blood thins, the body fails and, finally, one is grateful for a failing memory... I no longer treasure life, captain, not even my own. (cries) I am ''tired, and the past is a blank!" : - 'Kirk' and 'Anton Karidian' "''The revolution... is successful. But survival depends upon drastic measures. Your continued existence is a threat to the order we have restored; your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. I, therefore, have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, governor of Tarsus IV." : - Anton Karidian reading a copy of Kodos' death pronouncement "If he ''is Kodos, then I've shown him more mercy than he deserves. If not, then I'll let you off at the Benecia Colony with no harm done." "''Captain – who are ''you to say what harm is done?" "''Who do I ''have to be?" : - 'Kirk, Lenore' Background Information * The first draft of this episode's script was completed on . The revised final draft was turned in on 14 September for filming later that month. * The title is a reference to the line from ''Hamlet "The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." The episode contains several not-so-subtle references to that play: A leader's troubled conscience, his crimes being exposed during a play, and a daughter going insane (or more so, in Lenore's case) after the accidental killing of her father. * An even less subtle (but nicely done) reference is found in the opening of the episode: The Karidian Company is performing a scene from Macbeth, where the title character (Karidian) murders King Duncan and utters the line, Will all Neptune's great ocean wash this blood clean from my hands? * The original title of this episode was "Portrait In Black and White." * This episode seems to be an allegory about the search for Nazi war criminals after World War II - particularly Hitler himself whose body was also burnt beyond recognition. * Matt Groening, creator of ''The Simpsons'' named his recurring alien characters Kang and Kodos, after the characters in this episode and "Day of the Dove". * In his reimagined version of Battlestar Galactica, executive producer Ronald D. Moore named the prison barge "Astral Queen" after the ship commanded in this episode by John Daily. * Kirk's quarters are labeled as 3F 121. * The preview for this episode features an alternate edit of Kirk searching for the overloaded phaser in his quarters. It was unused because the plywood under the mattress of his bunk was visible. * The phaser overload emergency is the only known instance when a double red alert was declared. * This is the only appearance of the shuttle bay observation deck. * McCoy's cabinet has two skulls in it for the first time in this episode. * The vent disposal into which Kirk places the overloaded phaser would later be used by Lazarus to cause a fire in "The Alternative Factor". The small drawer would be filled with circuits for that scene. * In the scene in which the security guards are searching for Kevin Riley in the corridors, the viewer will be able to see rectangular seams in the floor – this is where the grates visible in "Charlie X" and other early episodes were eliminated and filled in with the corridor floor material. * When Spock declines to have a drink with McCoy by saying that his people were "spared the dubious benefits of alcohol", McCoy scorns Spock's refusal by stating that he now knows why Vulcan was conquered. This is contradicted in "The Immunity Syndrome" when Spock says Vulcan has not been conquered in its collective memory. * In the original draft, a "Crewman Daiken" was the young man whose parents had been murdered by Kodos. In the end, Bruce Hyde was used to replace that character with Kevin Riley. It's quite a change, since Riley was largely played for laughs in his first appearance, "The Naked Time". He was a navigator then, but in this episode he's a communications officer who's just been transferred to Engineering. However, he still wears the gold command shirt. * Kirk refers to Riley not as a Starfleet officer, but rather as a lieutenant in the "Star Service" - another early name for Starfleet. * The equipment-filled alcove that McCoy and Spock pass in the corridor as they discuss Kodos the Executioner is labeled "Engineering Circuit Bay". This sign was later placed next to the Jefferies tube in season two. * Spock's humanity is on display again in this episode. He is very empassioned as he speaks of the mass-murders on Tarsus IV. His conversation with McCoy also has 'Star Trek's' first direct reference to eugenics, although there is an oblique reference in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". * This is the only episode that shows night-time on the Enterprise. Kirk says that they try to approximate conditions of night and day as closely as possible. *The song sung by Uhura is "Beyond Antares". Dreamlike and rendered beautifully by Nichelle Nichols, it adds excellent atmosphere to this episode. Nichelle Nichols got to interact with the Vulcan harp again in "Elaan of Troyius", but that scene was cut. * The voice of Captain Daily is the same voice used for "Starbase Operations" in "The Menagerie, Part I", and is the same actor seen as "Mike", one of Kirk's old classmates at the bar in "Court Martial". The actor's name is probably Tom Curtis. * The city in the background out Tom Leighton's window is the same one used as Mojave in "The Cage". The window itself was used in the Delta Vega lithium cracking station set in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". * Eddie Paskey's character name is finally established as "Mr. Leslie" in this episode. * The ship's theatre is a redress of the Engineering set. Pieces of the ship's gymnasium are hanging on the walls, and the ceiling can be seen of this set in one of three glimpses in the first season. * The Observation Deck is a redress of the Romulan bridge set from "Balance of Terror". * Her walk-on bridge appearance and stern look at Lenore is Grace Lee Whitney's last appearance in the series, though in the script she interrupted Kirk and Lenore to bring Kirk a report during the Observation Deck scene. * Joseph Mullendore's score for this episode would be heard again in "Court Martial", "Shore Leave", "Space Seed", "The City on the Edge of Forever" and in the teaser of "The Return of the Archons". * In the 4th season ENT episode, "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" the future biographical information displayed for Hoshi Sato states that she was one of the 4,000 people killed by Kodos on the Tarsus colony. *James Doohan (Scotty) and George Takei (Sulu) do not appear in this episode. * The Star Trek theme song is performed by the lounge band at Tom Leighton's party. This is the first time the Star Trek theme has been played as source music. * This episode is avaiable on VHS through Amazon under ISBN 630021317X. * Stating that this was his favorite episode of TOS, writer Ronald D. Moore commented: *:I liked the backstory of Kirk as a young man caught up in a revolution and the nightmarish slaughter by Governor Kodos. I liked the Shakespearean overtones to the episode as well as the use of the plays themselves. And I absolutely loved Kirk in this episode – a troubled man haunted by the shadows of the past, a man willing to lure Karidian to his ship under false pretenses, willing to do one of his more cold-blooded seductions on Lenore, willing fight with his two closest friends, and risk his entire command in the name of justice. Or was it vengeance? Kirk's aware of his own lack of objectivity, his own flaws to be in this hunt for a killer, but he cannot push the burden away and refuses pull back from his quest to track down Kodos no matter what the cost. It also has some of my favorite lines in TOS. *:The scene with Spock and McCoy in Kirk's quarters is one of the series' highlights. The brooding tone and the morally ambiguous nature of the drama fascinated me and definitely influenced my thinking as to what Trek could and should be all about. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6952/ron37.txt Links and References Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Grace Lee Whitney as Rand Guest Stars * Arnold Moss as Anton Karidian * Barbara Anderson as Lenore Karidian * Bruce Hyde as Kevin Thomas Riley * William Sargent as Thomas Leighton * Natalie Norwick as Martha Leighton * David Troy as Larry Matson * Karl Bruck as King Duncan * Marc Adams as Prince Hamlet * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Tom Curtis? as Jon Daily (voice) * Majel Barrett as the Voice of Computer * Frank da Vinci as Vinci (uncredited) * Ron Veto as Harrison (Security guard, uncredited) * Davis Roberts as Security Crewwman Lewis (uncredited) References Arcturian; Astral Queen; Benecia colony, "Beyond Antares"; Cygnia Minor; Jon Daily; double red alert; D. Eames; Galactic Cultural Exchange Project; "Hamlet"; Karidian Company of Players; Kodos the Executioner; Macbeth; E. Molson; Planet Q; quarterly physical; Saurian brandy; William Shakespeare; Tarsus IV; tetralubisol; voiceprint; Vulcan lute External Links * Conscience of the King, The de:Kodos, der Henker es:The Conscience of the King fr:The Conscience of the King nl:The Conscience of the King sv:The Conscience of the King